MIAMI — Oops. A famous balloon dog sculpture crafted by renowned artist Jeff Koons was shattered into dozens of little pieces after a woman accidentally tipped it over at a Miami art fair.
It was reportedly worth about $42,000. The aftermath was captured by artist and art collector Stephen Gamson on Feb. 16 at the Bel-Air Fine Art gallery. The video posted to his Instagram page showed people looking shocked at the numerous shards of bright blue ceramic scattered on the floor.
According to a statement obtained by CNN from the gallery's district manager Cédric Boero, an unnamed art collector "unintentionally" kicked the pedestal during the fair's opening cocktail hour.
Boero called the accidental destruction of the art piece "heartbreaking," CNN reported.
"The collector never intended to break the sculpture, in fact she never touched it with her hands," he told CNN. "It was the opening cocktail, lots of people were on our booth, she gave unintentionally a little kick in the pedestal, which was enough to cause the sculpture to fall down."
She was reportedly very sorry the accident happened. Boero said this accident is the reason art pieces are insured.
The Miami Herald spoke with Gamson, who said, "When this thing fell to the ground, it was like how a car accident draws a huge crowd on the highway."
Koons' balloon sculptures are perhaps his most famous. He's made balloon swans, rabbits, monkeys and dogs, with the shiny balloon dogs perhaps the most recognizable of his work. They're all varying sizes. One of his balloon dog sculptures in 2013 sold for a reported $58.4 million.